For the Love of Books
by Kendrix D. Brandon
Summary: He shifts uncomfortably. "So…you like people who read?" "Of course, that way we can have something to talk about when we run out of things to talk about."


**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything. Plot comes from Imagine Your OTP on Tumblr & The Hunger Games belongs to Suzanne Collins.

**A.N.: **I'm sick, I haven't updated Hunt but I want to write and this came in so, yay :] No beta so mistakes are all my fault. I'm not very sure when the timeline is…. Let's just leave as AU. Sorry for some OOC-ness if ever.

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_Madge_

"Miss Undersee, do you mind putting the returned books back in their proper shelves?" her supervisor asks. "Freya is sick, she didn't come in today."

"Of course, Mrs. Franklin. And please, I told you to call me Madge." The blonde smiles at the older lady before proceeding to the cart filled with books.

People often wonder why the daughter of the mayor is working in a public library. But Madge doesn't mind. She's too busy enjoying what she does to listen to other people. In school, she hears whispers and she knows they're making fun of her but she doesn't mind. She enjoys working in the library.

She really couldn't understand why people won't just mind their own business. But then again, who is she to talk?

_Gale_

He hates reading. He loves quiet places but he hates _crowded_ quiet places. So why does he keep coming with Katniss and Peeta to the library?

"This is so stupid," he murmurs while he tries to read the physics book he needs for his homework.

Katniss looks up from her book and raises an eyebrow. "What is?"

"Me. The library. Why I'm _in_ the library. I should just go home."

This time Peeta looks up. "Don't be such a killer. This is fun."

Gale grumbles, "For you."

"Don't you like it here?" Peeta wonders. "I thought you do since you keep coming back with us."

"I don't like it here, and I don't know why I keep coming back." He drops the book and stands up. "I'm just going to head to the restroom."

While he walks around the corner he spots Madge Undersee trying to put a book back on the high shelf, but because of her short stature she has to tiptoe. He sighs and decides to be a gentleman. He takes the book from her and places it on the shelf. "Undersee, if you need help, you should ask. You don't have to pretend to be better than anyone else here just because we're all from the Seam."

_Madge_

Instead of the gratitude that comes out of her mouth, she gives him a hard glare. "Stop that. You know I don't think I'm better than anyone here, Gale. And how could I ask someone for help, there's no one here."

Gale looks around before looking at her again. "Oh."

Madge frowns. "But thank you for putting it back for me. Now if you will excuse me, I have to return these."

And as she begins to walk, Gale stops her, "Wait, Madge, um…"

She stops. "Yes?"

"Do you need any help putting those back?"

_Gale_

He doesn't know why he stopped her or why he offered to help her but he wishes that she'll say yes. Why? He's still not sure.

"W-what?" she sputters. "You're asking if I need any help?"

Gale is a bit offended by that. He crosses his arms and looks at her directly. "Yes, I'm asking if you need any help. Do you? I'm good with heights, you know."

Madge sighs. "Yeah, you're right. If you aren't too busy, then yes, I would need your assistance."

"Lead the way," he says, gesturing his arms forward.

"So, why are you working here instead of staying in the comfort of your tea and sunny porch?"

She gives him a look before rolling her eyes. "Because I enjoy being near books. I've already fixed my bookshelves a thousand times, Mom doesn't read so there's no need to fix hers and Dad doesn't like it when I keep placing his books in different orders. I need something to do every day." She hands him a book and tells him where to put it.

"And you decided that this would be it?" he asks as he places the book in the nearly filled shelf.

"At first I went to Delly and Peeta's, then I began to work at the bakery but it wasn't the same so Peeta recommended that I work here, that way, he can keep an eye on me and we get to go home together after he drops Katniss off at her place."

"I didn't know you were so passionate about…rearranging books."

"It's not just that. I like to take note of them, see who else likes them, what they like to read and all those."

He shifts uncomfortably. "So…you like people who read?"

"Of course, that way we can have something to talk about when we run out of things to talk about."

"Uh-huh…." He looks away before casually taking a deep breath. "What's your favorite book?"

"To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee," she answers without missing a beat.

His eyes widen. "Is that violent?"

"No, silly." She laughs and he finds himself smiling. "It's a book about family living in Old Panem when it was nearing the Great Depression. They face a lot of things, friendships and even a trial."

_Great Depression_, he thinks, _I know that. But I don't think I paid much attention to it. _"Sounds interesting," he lies. "Where can I read it?" He doesn't know where that comes from. "I'm sure it'll be…fun."

Madge gives him a huge grin. "Really?"

"Yeah…it'll be interesting, something new."

_Madge_

Somehow, she can't believe that Gale Hawthorne wants to read, especially her favorite book. So when they finish with the returned books, she leads him to the fiction shelf and takes out the book without even looking at it. She gives him a dark red book with a tree. "Here you go."

"Thanks," he says, scanning the book. "So if I borrow this today when will it be due?"

"In a week, but we can always just ask for another week when the first week is over."

"Great, I can finish this in two weeks," Gale tells her. "So…um…I should get back to Katniss and Dou—Peeta. I still have my physics homework to do."

"Right, of course, I have to return to the front desk, too." The feeling of him leaving is something she's used to but after this long conversation, the longing feels new. "So, I'll see you around?"

"Yeah, probably." Gale nods and walks away. "See ya, Undersee."

"Bye, Gale."

_Gale_

He goes back to the library every day. He talks to Madge, not just about books, but about their life and their days, whenever he can. He borrows a pile of books whenever he can and to everyone's surprise (and to his as well) he finishes them and actually tries to understand them. Sometimes he'd even bring Vick and Posy along and the two get along just great.

Once, his younger brother, Rory, suspiciously asks him, "Are you in love?"

He holds up a hand for a few seconds before turning to him. "What?"

"Are you in love?" he repeats. "All you do is study, read and go to the library. Are you in love?"

"No," but he's a little unsure himself.

Rory just nods his head slowly before leaving the room.

When he tells Katniss the story, she just chuckles and shakes her head. "Oh, Gale." And he doesn't know what that means and he's a little confused when Peeta gives him a pep talk about how some girls get hurt easily. All he does is tell him that he knows how girls work…the ones from the Seam at least.

But one day, a Saturday, Madge doesn't show up at the library. When he asks Mrs. Franklin about it, she tells him that she called in sick.

He holds a book called Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling and he just can't wait to tell her about it.

So he does what he always did before when he would sell strawberries with Katniss. He knocked on the door of the Mayor's Mansion. But he asks for what he never thought he would ask. "May I please see Madge?"

"And who are you, young man?"

He's certainly not the mayor and Gale's relieved. "I'm Gale Hawthorne, her friend."

The man by the door nods. "Oh, yes, I've heard, please, come in. I'll lead you to her room."

And so he goes in. He's scared his boots will make a mess. He's scared that the people in the house that are looking at him will suddenly tell him to leave. He's scared that Madge wouldn't want to see him.

They stop on the third floor, third door by the stairs. Gale waits patiently as the man knocks and someone could be heard saying that he could come in.

"Mrs. Undersee, Gale Hawthorne would like to see Miss Madge."

When Gale is inside, he's surprised that a older, blonde woman is sitting by a chair beside the bed where he sees Madge lying down with a towel on her forehead. The woman is not too old but she's frail, thin and weak. He's known from Katniss that's she's sick and lives by on morphling.

"Mrs. Undersee?" He sticks out his hand for her to shake. "I'm Gale Hawthorne."

She gives him a smile. "Hello, Gale. I've heard a lot about you."

He flushes. "My mom has heard a lot about Madge, too." _That's a very smooth thing to say to her, Hawthorne._

It makes Mrs. Undersee chuckle. "Well, I'm glad. You should stay with her, I have to go back to my room now. When you leave, Henrietta will be the one to take care of her."

"Oh, no, it's all right," Gale immediately says. "You can stay, Mrs. Undersee. I can come back anytime."

"No, please, stay. I'm sure she'll be happy to see you when she wakes up." As she tries to stand, about five maids come to her aid and bring her to a wheelchair. "Very happy to see you, Gale. I'll talk to you soon. Take care of her."

"Yes, ma'am," he murmurs. When they all leave the room, Gale occupies the armchair next to the bed and looks at the blonde. "I guess you're stuck with me."

_Madge_

She stirs and hums as she wakes. "Mom? Are you still there?"

"She left an hour ago when I came to visit you."

She sits up, the towel falling down her lap, shocked that he comes, and then horrified when she remembers how she looks. "Gale! What are you doing here?"

"Can't I visit a friend?" He raises the book and tells her that she wasn't in her usual spot in the library. "I was excited to tell you about this. I read it out loud to Vick and Posy, they loved it and can't wait for the next." He pauses. "There is another book, right?"

Madge smiles. "There's six more, you know. And some spin-offs."

"Spin-offs," he repeats slowly, "right."

She shakes her head. "Did they give you something to drink and eat?"

"Um…no…"

"Oh, dear." She removes the blankets from her body but Gale is already up and trying to get her back in. "No, that's very rude of them. Leaving a guest with nothing. I should go tell them."

"No, Madge, it's okay," he stops her. "You know that from where I come from, most of us can't feed ourselves. I'm used to this."

She looks at him for awhile. He's never spoken about our class difference in that manner before. "If you insist." She rests herself against the headboard. "Go on."

And they talk about Harry Potter, Gale's day and her illness for hours and this makes Madge feel better.

Gale looks at the clock and stands up. "I should get going. Mom's gonna be worried."

She nods. "Of course."

"I'll see you in school on Monday?"

"Most probably," she assures him.

"Feel better."

And then he does something that neither of them, especially not her, would ever dream of doing. He kisses her forehead. Swift. Then he's out the door. She feels like she doesn't want to shower for days.

_Katniss_

He tells Katniss what he did. He told her everything from the start until the two have their weekly lunch. Katniss listens, she really does, but sometimes she thinks that Gale is stupid for not figuring out something this obvious on his own.

"Just tell her," she urges.

"Easy for you, the one who confessed was Mellark, the Townie. The one who can promise you things." He snorts. "Whereas I'm the one from the Seam with three siblings I still need to feed. What can I promise her? Not only is she a Townie but she's the Mayor's daughter. She's probably the richest girl here in Twelve."

"Times are different now. People are more…accepting of this. We're surviving better. We don't even have to hunt illegally anymore. Once you're done with school you get to go District Two with that scholarship of yours then you'll go find a job." Katniss shrugs. "I don't know what you'll offer her. But it's Madge, she doesn't care." And she knows she doesn't, because Madge tells her and Peeta everything, too.

_Gale_

So Gale tells his mother. He feels as if she would understand what he's going through. And she does. He knows she does. The thing is, Hazelle says the same thing as Katniss.

The only person who could think of talking to is Mellark. So he goes to him.

"I need your help."

"Is this about you and Madge?" Peeta wonders without even looking up at him, his eyes focused on frosting the cake. "Katniss told me."

He groans. "Yes, it's about me and…Madge. The difference between you and me, Mellark, is that you're the Townie—"

"And you're from the Seam," he finished. "Uh-huh. I know. But you know, with that college course you're taking, you could become pretty rich, too."

"You're saying what my mom and Katniss are saying."

"Almost. You can promise Madge a future."

Unlike Katniss and Hazelle, this wasn't subtle. "A future?"

"Yes, a future. You're from the Seam now, yeah? But look at what happened to Marcus Fender's dad, he's rich. And how about that Capitol designer? Um…Jazzy McKeen? Yeah, she was my dad's classmate in high school and she was from the Seam."

"What's your point?"

Peeta looks at him, shaking his head. "Gale, you know my point."

And Gale does know his point but he never liked to talk about his future, that's why he didn't like what Katniss and Hazelle gave him. The only one he knows who has experienced this was Mr. Everdeen, but how could he talk to a dead man? He doubts Mrs. Everdeen would give him good advice (or he just doesn't really feel comfortable talking to her).

"But you know what I say, Gale?"

Gale looks at him again. "What?"

"Screw it and just go for it, you know? I know you'll do your best for the her and your family."

He nods. "Right."

_Madge_

When she gets to school on Monday, the first thing she sees by her locker is a bucket of strawberries. Then she sees a rose and a note on it. She smiles, reads the note and eats a berry.

'_One day, I hope that I get to be an author and write about our life story.'_

"Corny, I know. But is it okay with you?" a deep voice asks.

She turns around, a smile already on her lips. "An autobiography."

He nods slowly. "Right." Then he takes her hands. "I have a scholarship for a university in District Two. I can change that damn thing about being miner and a hunter. I can learn all those other words that I don't know and read those other books that Panem banned before…with you. I'll do my best to provide for my family and you and we can buy all the books we want and talk about them and—"

She cuts him off, her lips on his. When they let go, she giggles. "You know, sometimes, I don't want to just talk about books."

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**A.N.: **So…a bit rushed. Sorry about that, but I didn't want it too long. Not very proud of the talk with Katniss down but I guess it's all right. Let me know what you think, if you want :] Thank you for reading :]


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